Automatic control of a workpiece under the needle of a sewing machine

ABSTRACT

A device for the automatic manipulation of workpieces such as textile blanks, under the needle of a sewing machine. The blanks are held in a clamp secured to a profile member driven by a roller mounted in a fixed location with its axis of rotation colinear with the needle of the sewing machine. The clamp and profile members are displaceably mounted relative to the sewing machine and arranged such that a right or acute angled corner in the line of sewing performed on the workpiece may be made with little or no curvature of the stitching adjacent the corner.

United States Patent [191 Webber [4 1 Mar. 26, 1974 AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF A WORKPIECE UNDER THE NEEDLE OF A SEWING MACHINE [76] Inventor: Edward I-Iulton Webber, 91 Tawa [52] US. Cl. 1l2/l2l.l2 [51] Int. Cl D05b 21/00 [58] Field of Search..... l12/121.15, 121.12, 121.1 1,

3,680,508 8/1972 Baig ill/121.12

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,951,056 4/1971 Germany ll2/l2l.l2

Primary Examiner-James R. Boler Assistant Examiner-Wai M. Chan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-J-Iolman & Stern 57] ABSTRACT A device for the automatic manipulation of workpieces such as textile blanks, under the needle of a sewing machine. The blanks are held in a clamp secured to a profile member driven by a roller mounted in a fixed location with its axis of rotation co-linear with the needle of the sewing machine. The clamp and profile members are displaceably mounted relative to the sewing machine and arranged such that a right or acute angled corner in the line of sewing performed on the workpiece may be made with little or no curvature of the stitching adjacent the corner.

6 Claims, 9. Drawing Figures [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,880.683 4/1959 Abel r 112/12l.12

3216.383 11/1965 Bono ..1l2/l21.l2 3.224393 12/1965 Adams et al 1l2/12l.12 3,332,378 7/1967 Adarn et a1. t ll2/121.12 3.400608 9/1968 Laws 112/118 Pmmanmes m4 3,799,085

SHEET 2 [1F 4 PAIENTEUmzs I974 SHEET 3 [1F 4 AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF A WORKPIECE UNDER THE NEEDLE OF A SEWING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for the automatic control of the movement of a workpiece, for example, a shirt collar, under the needle of a sewing machine, and has been devised particularly though not solely for the automatic control of a workpiece where the line of sewing of the needle is required to traverse a right an gled or acute angled corner.

PRIOR ART The automatic or semi automatic control of the movement of a workpiece under the needle of a sewing machine presented in the past considerable difficulties, particularly when the line of sewing produced by the needle is required to traverse a right angled or near right angled corner. Apparatus used in the past to achieve this form of stitching has been extremely complicated, and in most instances, has required hydraulic clamping of the movement of such apparatus which has particular disadvantages through the possibility of the leakage of hydraulic oils coming in contact with the articles being sewn by the machine, thus causing their rejection or causing additional work to be performed to produce a satisfactory saleable article.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for the automatic control of the movement of a workpiece under the needle of a sewing machine which will overcome or minimize the foregoing disadvantage in a simple yet effective manner or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Accordingly in one aspect, the invention consists in apparatus for controlling the path of work being done on a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a table adapted to support a workpiece, gripping means to temporarily fix the workpiece to the table, a profiling member associated with said table and defining the path of work to be done on said workpiece and friction drive means arranged in a stationary location and adapted to frictionally engage and thus drive said profiling member and consequently said table so that the workpiece may have work done thereon along a path the profile of which is determined by said profiling means.

In a further aspect, the invention consists in apparatus for controlling the path of work being done on a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a table adapted to support a workpiece, gripping means to temporarily fix the workpiece to the table, a profiling member associated with said table and defining the path of the work to be done on said workpiece, said profiling member having at least one radiused corner at a desired position, drive means arranged in a stationary location having a driving wheel adapted to drive said profiling member by engagement therewith, a pressure wheel carrier coaxially rotatably mounted in relation to said drive wheel, a pressure wheel mounted on said pressure wheel carrier and positioned in relation to the drive wheel so that said profiling member is engaged between said drive wheel and said pressure wheel and biasing means adapted to bias said pressure wheel carrier to tend to rotate, the construction and arrangement being such that in use on said profiling member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner having an included angle on the driving wheel side of the profile member of less than approaching said driving wheel, said biasing means operate to bias said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is released when the radius on the profile conforms substantially to the radius of the driving wheel whereupon the pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position changing the direction of motion of the profiling member and thus the table and workpiece so that the workpiece may have work done thereon along a path, the profile of which is determined by said profiling means.

In a still further aspect, the invention consists in apparatus for controlling the path of work being done on a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a table adapted to support a workpiece, gripping means to temporarily fix the workpiece to the table, a profiling member associated with said table and defining the path of the work to be done on said workpiece, said profiling member having at least one radiused corner at a desired position, drive means arranged in a stationary location having a driving wheel adapted to drive said profiling member by engagement therewith, a pressure wheel carrier coaxially rotatably mounted in relation to said drive wheel, a pressure wheel mounted on said pressure wheel carrier and positioned in relation to the drive wheel so that said profiling member is engaged between said drive wheel and said pressure wheel and biasing means adapted to bias said pressure wheel carrier to tend to rotate, the construction and arrangement being such that in use on said profiling member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner having an external angle on the driving wheel side of said profile member of more than 180 approaching said pressure wheel, said biasing means operate to bias said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is released when a line bisecting said external angle is moved from one side to the other side of a substantially vertical plane in which plane the axis of said drive wheel and said pressure wheel lie, whereupon the pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position changing the direction of motion of the profiling member and thus the table and workpiece so that the workpiece may have work done thereon along a path, the profile of which is determined by said profiling means.

The invention consists in the foregoing and also envisages constructions of which the following gives examples only, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which this invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a view on line IIII in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation of the drive means and the cornering means,

FIG. 4 is a plan view on line TV-IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a view of the sewing machine pressure foot,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a clamp for a workpiece,

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the invention,

FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 4 at an internal corner of the profiling member and,

FIG. 9 is a plan view of an alternative arrangement of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the preferred form of the invention, a frame 1 is provided which supports a work top 2 on which a sewing machine 3 is mounted. A drive comprising an electric motor 4 is provided, the motor 4 having two pulleys 5 and 6 mounted on its drive shaft, with the pulley 5 driving a belt 7 to provide a drive for the sewing machine 3 and the pulley 6 provides a drive to a shaft 8 suitably connected to the input shaft of a reduction gear box 9. An output shaft of the reduction gear box 9 is extended vertically and has mounted at an upper end thereof a drive roller 11. The pulley sizes and gear reduction box ratio are arranged to provide a suitable rotationable speed of the drive roller 11 for example 65 rpm. Mounted on the extended portion of the output shaft 10 below the drive roller 11 is a cornering and pressure device denoted generally 12 comprising a body 13 (FIG. 3) having an arm 14 extending radially therfrom, the end of the arm 14 having an upwardly extending lug 15 which is apertured radially from the axis of the body 13 to receive a sliding member 16 which extends radially inwardly mounting a block 18 which has a vertically extending shaft 19 on which is mounted a roller or rollers 20, for example, the roller may consist of a pair of ball bearings of suitable outside diameter. A spring 21 is provided on the sliding member 16 between the lug 15 and the block 18 to bias the sliding member 16 and thus'the rollers towards the drive roller 11, and the arrangement is such that the roller 20 may be moved towards the drive roller 11 until the surfaces of the rollers 20 and 11 are in contact. The body 13 is rotatably mounted on the extended output shaft 10 preferably by mounting the body 13 on a pair of ball bearings 22 and a catch pin 23 is provided in the body 13 diametrically opposite the arm projection 14 and arranged to engage a spring 24 mounted on a suitable bracket 25 extending downwardly from a profile mounting plate 26.

An interchangeable profile member 27 is mounted on the profile mounting plate 26 and preferably the profiling member 27 and the profiling support plate 26 are defined as a single unit demountably mounted on a head (to be described further later) to provide the desired interchangeability. The profile 27 comprises for example, a strip or bar of metal approximately 1 inch wide by 56 inch thick formed to a suitable configuration, and the inside dimensions (i.e., the side of the profile upon which the drive roller 11 acts) are greater than the actual dimensions of the line of sewing to be performed on the workpiece by a dimension equal to half the diameter of the drive roller 11. The axis of the drive roller 11 is positioned such that it is coaxial with the axis of the sewing needle of the sewing machine 3. The profile 27 and the profile mounting plate 26 are mounted on a head 28 at one end of an arm 29 and arranged so that the profile 27 is engaged between the drive roller 11 and the pressure rollers 20 so that the pressure rollers 20 hold the profile in firm contact with the drive roller 11 as the drive roller rotates and drives the profile 27 between the drive roller 11 and the pressure roller 20 causing the head 28 to move according to the configuration of the profile. The arm 29 is pivotally mounted on a pivot 30 mounted in a bracket 31 supported on the frame 1. The axis of the pivot 30 is substantially vertical and thus the arm 29 may move in an arc in a substantially horizontal plane. The mounting head 28 is provided with a vertical spindle 32 mounted in suitable bearings in a boss 33 and the lower end of the spindle 32 is provided with a flange 34 to which is mounted the profile mounting plate 26. The spindle 32 extends upwardly through the head boss 33 and is provided at its upper end with a mounting plate 35 level with or slightly above the surface of the table top 2. The plate 35 may be any suitable size and is provided with a plurality of vertically projecting studs which engage the work piece clamps as will be later described. A cam carrying member, for example, a flange 36 may be provided on the spindle 32 carrying suitably positioned cams 37 which engage an operable lever 38 of a suitable switch, for example, a micro switch 39 which is a stop switch to stop the machine 3 at the end of a sewing cycle.

Clamping members are provided and one preferred form of a clamp is shown in FIG. 6, however each clamping bracket must be adapted to suit the particular size and shape of the workpiece to be sewn. The clamps may consist ofa base plate 40 made from a suitable material, for example, sheet aluminium and shaped to conform with the shape of the workpiece to be sewn. The edge of the clamping plate 40 is smaller than the sewing line on the workpiece by a suitable amount for example inch. Adjacent one edge of the base plate 40 is provided suitably positioned apertures 41 which engage studs 42 of the clamp mounting plate 35 (FIG. 2). An upper clamp plate 43 is hingedly mounted from the base plate 40 by a pair of hinges 44 and a toggle clamp mechanism 45 is provided between the upper clamping plate 43 and a bracket 46 extending upwardly from the base plate 40. Thus, the workpiece or pieces may be placed on the base plate 40 with the upper clamp plate 43 in the open or raised position and when suitably aligned, the toggle clamping arrangement 45 may be operated to close the upper clamping plate 43 to grip the workpiece or pieces between the base plate 40 and the upper clamping plate 43.

The workpiece is moved at a constant speed by the profile driven by the drive roller 11, and thus the sewing machine 3 does not require the normal feed mechanism and accordingly this is removed from the sewing machine 3. The machine 3 is further modified (FIG. 5) by providing a small dome 46 in the needle aperture of a lower plate 47 of the machine 3 and the conventional pressure foot of the machine is removed and replaced by a dome shaped foot 48 having an aperture 49 through which a needle 50 passes. The dome shaped foot 48 is supported on an arm 51 extending downwardly from the normal mounting point of a conventional pressure foot. The mechanism of the sewing machine is arranged so that the foot 48 moves substantially vertically upwardly and downwardly in a manner such that the foot 48 is in contact with the fabric being sewn only when the needle is through the fabric so that the fabric is free to move with the profile between each penetration of the needle.

The use of the construction is as follows:

The apparatus is assembled as previously described and a suitable source of electric power is applied to the motor 4 which is provided with a manual start switch.

A workpiece to be sewn is placed in a clamp and the clamp closed and positioned on the locating studs 42. The profile 27 would, of course, be positioned at its start position. The machine 3 may now be set in position by the manual switch and the drive roller 11 will drive the profile 27 between the drive roller and the pressure rollers so that the head 28 and the spindle 32 move in combination as determined by the profile 27 to move the clamps and thus the workpiece along a predetermined path so that the machine forms a line of sewing conforming with a predetermined pattern.

The invention allows for a right angled or acute angled outside corner to be traversed in a line of sewing with little or no curvature of the sewing line or a right angled or acute angled internal corner to be traversed in a line of sewing with a small curvature of the sewing line. Where a right angled or acute angled outside corner is to be made in a line of sewing the profile 27 is radiused at an inside edge to conform with the radius of the drive roller 11 and where a right angled or acute angled internal corner is to be made in the line of sewing the profile 27 at the point where the right angled or acute angled internal corner is to be made is radiused at its outside edge to conform with the radius of the pressure roller 20 at its inside edge formed to an apex 52 (FIG. 8). In operation, the external corner may be turned as follows. As the profile 27 driven by the roller 11 approaches an external corner, the catch pin 23 is engaged by the hooked end of the tension spring 24 mounted at a suitable position on the profile mounting plate 26 so that as further movement of the profile 27 and the profile plate 26 takes place towards the corner, the spring 24 is stretched and imparts a turning force to the body 13 of the cornering device and finally when the profile 27 reaches a point where the inside radius of the profile 27 is in contact with the surface of the drive roller 11 (FIG. 4), the pressure roller 20 is able to roll around the outer surface of the profile 27 as the cornering device is rotated by the turning force imparted to the body and the tension spring 24. Once the pressure rollers 20 have rotated around the outside corner of the profile 27, the workpiece if free to move in another direction driven by the drive roller 11, with this direction being substantially at right angles to the previous line of travel or at an acute angle to the previous line of travel. The spring 24 is disengaged from the catch pin 23 as the cornering device rotates around the corner of the profile 27.

In an alternative construction an external corner may be turned as follows:

Referring to FIG. 9, the profile 27 is provided on the outer surface adjacent the corner to be turned with a cam member 53 arranged with a ramp portion 54 rising from the outer surface of the profile member 27 and terminating a suitable distance, for example 1/16 inch from the commencement of an arc portion 55 of the profile member 27, and having a descending ramp portion 56 from this point 57 to meet the arc portion 55 of the profile member 27 tangentially. In operation, the drive roller 11 drives the profile member between the pressure roller 20 and the drive roller 1 l and as the corner is approached, the ramp portion 54 of the cam 53 causes the pressure roller to move outwardly and further load the spring 21 so that when the apex 57 of the cam is reached, the compression of the spring 21 causes the pressure roller 20 to descend the ramp portion 56 rapidly thus turning the cornering device so that the profile 27 may be moved in another direction.

With both these constructions the turning action usually occurs so rapidly that the profiling member and the workpiece change direction so that adjacent stitches are substantially at right angles to each other there being thus no curving of the line of stitching but rather an abrupt angular change. However, in some circumstances there may be one or two stitches made during the angular change but this is unusual.

The operation of the turning device at an internal corner (FIG. 8) is performed as follows:

The drive roller 1] drives the profiling member 27 between the drive roller 11 and the pressure roller 20 until the internal corner is approached and the pressure roller 20 comes to rest against a radiused portion 58 on the outside surface of the profile member 27 and the drive roller 11 continues to drive the profiling member 27 causing the spring 21 of the pressure roller 20 to compress until the apex 52 on the inside surface of the profile 27 moves from one side to the other side of a substantially vertical plane in which the axes of the drive roller 11 and the pressure roller 20 lie, whereupon the spring 21 causes the pressure roller carrying arm to rotate so that the profile 27 moves in another direction and so that a line of stitching 59 is performed on the workpiece. The line of stitching through the corner following a radius is equal to half the diameter of the drive roller 11.

The invention has considerable advantages and may be used with a standard industrial sewing machine, with the only modification required being the removal of the feed feet and the replacement of the standard pressure foot with a dome-shaped foot which allows the workpiece to be moved in any direction and at a substantially constant speed to produce a line of sewing.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for controlling the path of work being done on a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a table adapted to support a workpiece, gripping means to temporarily fix the workpiece to the table, a profiling member associated with said table and defining the path of the work to be done on said workpiece, said profiling member having at least one radiused corner at a desired position, drive means arranged in a stationary location having a driving wheel adapted to drive said profiling member by engagement therewith, a pressure wheel carrier, means coaxially rotatably mounting said pressure wheel carrier in relation to said drive wheel, a pressure wheel, means mounting said pressure wheel on said pressure wheel carrier and positioned in relation to the drive wheel so that said profiling member is engaged between said drive wheel and said pressure wheel and biasing means adapted to bias said pressure wheel carrier to tend to rotate, the construction and arrangement being such that in use on said profiling member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner having an included angle on the driving wheel side of the profile member of less than approaching said driving wheel, said biasing means operate to bias said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is released when the radius on the profile conforms substantially to the radius of the driving wheel whereupon the pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position changing the direction of motion of the profiling member and thus the table and workpiece so that the workpiece may have work done thereon along a path, the profile of which is determined by said profiling means.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said biasing means comprises ramp means associated with said profile member, said ramp means having a first ramp portion adapted to move said pressure wheel away from said drive wheel and a second ramp portion suitably positioned and arranged so that the surface of said second ramp portion lies in a plane tangential to the arc of the radiused corner of said profile such that in use on said radiused corner on the profile conforming substantially to the radius of the driving wheel said pressure roller passes from said first ramp portion to said second ramp portion whereupon said pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position as said pressure wheel moves along said second ramp portion urged by the biasing of said pressure wheel towards said drive wheel, changing the direction of motion of said profile member.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said biasing means comprises a tension spring, means connecting said tension spring at one end to said profile member, a projection on said pressure wheel carrier, the other end of said tension spring being adapted to catch said projection, such that in use on said profile member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner approaching said driving wheel, the other end of said tension spring catches said projection on said pressure wheel carrier and as further movement takes place, said tension spring is stretched biasing said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is resisted until a radiused corner on the profile conforms substantially to the radius of said driving wheel whereupon said pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position and said tension spring is released from said projection, changing the direction of motion of the profile member.

4. Apparatus for controlling the path of work being done on a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a table adapted to support a workpiece, gripping means to temporarily fix the workpiece to the table, a profiling member associated with said table and defining the path of the work to be done on said workpiece, said profiling member having at least one radiused corner at a desired position, drive means arranged in a stationary location having a driving wheel adapted to drive said profiling member by engagement therewith, a pressure wheel carrier, means coaxially rotatably mounting said pressure wheel on said pressure wheel carrier and positioned in relation to the drive wheel so that said profiling member is engaged between said drive wheel and said pressure wheel and biasing means adapted to bias said pressure wheel carrier to tend to rotate, the construction and arrangement being such that in use on said profiling member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner having an external angle on the driving wheel side of said profile member of more than approaching said pressure wheel, said biasing means operate to bias said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is released when a line bisecting said external angle is moved from one side to the other side of a substantially vertical plane in which plane the axis of said drive wheel and said pressure wheel lie, whereupon the pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position changing the direction of motion of the profiling member and thus the table and workpiece so that the workpiece may have work done thereon along a path, the profile of which is determined by said profiling means.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a vertical spindle and an arm, means mounting said profiling member at the lower end of said vertical spindle, means mounting said spindle at one end of said arm, said arm forming constraining means, means pivotally mounting the other end of said arm on a substantially vertical axis, said spindle extending upwardly to associate with said gripping means such that movement of said profiling member produces corresponding move ment of said gripping means.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including an arm, means mounting said cornering means on said arm coaxial with said driving means, a tension spring associated with said profiling member, said arm mounting said pressure means and being adapted to engage said tension spring to impart a turning force to said arm in a manner such that in use the tension means is engaged when a right or acute angle corner in the sewing line is approached, and when the corner point is reached, said turning force moves said pressure means around said corner of said profiling member cuasing the profiling member to move in a direction at right angles or an acute angle to its previous line of travel.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3799085 Dated March 26, 1974 Inventor(s) Edward Hulton Webber It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 18, 1971 New Zealand 163690 Signed and sealed this 9th day of July. 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON; JR. c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer v Commissioner of Patents FORM PC4050 V USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 R 11.5, GOVIINMINT PRINTING OFFICE 2 1,, OJ"IJI' 

1. Apparatus for controlling the path of work being done on a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a table adapted to support a workpiece, gripping means to temporarily fix the workpiece to the table, a profiling member associated with said table and defining the path of the work to be done on said workpiece, said profiling member having at least one radiused corner at a desired position, drive means arranged in a stationary location having a driving wheel adapted to drive said profiling member by engagement therewith, a pressure wheel carrier, means coaxially rotatably mounting said pressure wheel carrier in relation to said drive wheel, a pressure wheel, means mounting said pressure wheel on said pressure wheel carrier and positioned in relation to the drive wheel so that said profiling member is engaged between said drive wheel and said pressure wheel and biasing means adapted to bias said pressure wheel carrier to tend to rotate, the construction and arrangement being such that in use on said profiling member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner having an included angle on the driving wheel side of the profile member of less than 180*, approaching said driving wheel, said biasing means operate to bias said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is released when the radius on the profile conforms substantially to the radius of the driving wheel whereupon the pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position changing the direction of motion of the profiling member and thus the table and workpiece so that the workpiece may have work done thereon along a path, the profile of which is determined by said profiling means.
 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said biasing means comprises ramp means associated with said profile member, said ramp means having a first ramp portion adapted to move said pressure wheel away from said drive wheel and a second ramp portion suitably positioned and arranged so that the surface of said second ramp portion lies in a plane tangential to the arc of the radiused corner of said profile such that in use on said radiused corner on the profile conforming substantially to the radius of the driving wheel said pressure roller passes from said first ramp portion to said second ramp portion whereupon said pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position as said pressure wheel moves along said second ramp portion urged by the biasing of said pressure wheel towards said drive wheel, changing the direction of motion of said profile member.
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said biasing means comprises a tension spring, means connecting said tension spring at one end to said profile member, a projection on said pressure wheel carrier, the other end of said tension spring being adapted to catch said projection, such that in use on said profile member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner approaching said driving wheel, the other end of said tension spring catches said projection on said pressure wheel carrier and as further movement takes place, said tension spring is stretched biasing said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is resisted until a radiused corner on the profile conforms substantially to the radius of said driving wheel whereupon said pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position and said tension spring is released from said projection, changing the direction of motion of the profile member.
 4. Apparatus for controlling the path of work being done on a workpiece, said apparatus comprising a table adapted to support a workpiece, gripping means to temporarily fix the workpiece to the table, a profiling member associated with said table and defining the path of the work to be done on said workpiece, said profiling member having at least one radiused corner at a desired position, drive means arranged in a stationary location having a driving wheel adapted to drive said profiling member by engagement therewith, a pressure wheel carrier, means coaxially rotatably mounting said pressure wheel on said pressure wheel carrier and positioned in relation to the drive wheel so that said profiling member is engaged between said drive wheel and said pressure wheel and biasing means adapted to bias said pressure wheel carrier to tend to rotate, the construction and arrangement being such that in use on said profiling member being driven by said driving wheel and on a radiused corner having an external angle on the driving wheel side of said profile member of more than 180* approaching said pressure wheel, said biasing means operate to bias said pressure wheel carrier to rotate, which biasing is released when a line bisecting said external angle is moved from one side to the other side of a substantially vertical plane in which plane the axis of said drive wheel and said pressure wheel lie, whereupon the pressure wheel carrier is rotated to a different position changing the direction of motion of the profiling member and thus the table and workpiece so that the workpiece may have work done thereon along a path, the profile of which is determined by said profiling means.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a vertical spindle and an arm, means mounting said profiling member at the lower end of said vertical spindle, means mounting said spindle at one end of said arm, said arm forming constraining means, means pivotally mounting the other end of said arm on a substantially vertical axis, said spindle extending upwardly to associate with said gripping means such that movement of said profiling member produces corresponding movement of said gripping means.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including an arm, means mounting said cornering means on said arm coaxial with said driving means, a tension spring associated with said profiling member, said arm mounting said pressure means and being adapted to engage said tension spring to impart a turning force to said arm in a manner such that in use the tension means is engaged when a right or acute angle corner in the sewing line is approached, and when the corner point is reached, said turning force moves said pressure means around said corner of said profiling member cuasing the profiling member to move in a direction at right angles or an acute angle to its previous line of travel. 